Bias cutting machine



Nov. 22, 1932.

H. s. ALEXANIXDER ET AL BIAS CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 15. 1928 4 SheetsSheet 1 1932' H. s ALEXANDER ET AL 1,838,754

BIAS CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 15. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 22,. 1932- I H. s. ALEXANDER ET AL 1,888,754

Q BIAS CUTTING |MACHINE Filed June 15. 1928 4 Sheets Sheet -s 4 Shets-Sheet' 4 INVENTORJ mmr .s. ALEXANDIA, Mm a. P/T/F/wmr Jfl/M w. WHITE Q Arr f Nov. 22, .1932. H. s. ALEXANDER ET AL BIAS CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 15. 1928 Patented Nov. '22, 1932 UNITED. STATES PATIENT OFFICE,

HARRY S. ALEXANDER AND EREZD B. PFEIFFER,'OF AKRON, AND JOHN W. WHITE, OF BABBERTON, OHIO, ASSIGNORS' TO SEIBERLING RUBBER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE BIAS CUTTING MACHINE- Application filed June 15,

each other in the adjacent plies, the number of plies depending upon the size of the easing, or upon the gauge of the cords, or both. In some cases, the cords in each ply or layer are cross-woven or made up in the form of a 23 sheet of fabric or canvas for the production of fabric tires, and in other cases the cordsin each ply or layer are disposed merely side by side in parallel relation with no connection between them except the rubber with which they are impregnated,or'encased, for the production of cord tires. In using the word fabric in the specification and claims, it is intended to comprehend either kind of 0 sheet material above referred to or any other kind of sheet material embodying cords in one way or another to reinforce the rubberbody portion.

The rubberized fabric above described is prepared in sheet form and wound, with-a liner, in a stock roll and is later run thru a bias cutting machine which, as its name im-.. plies, cuts the sheet diagonally into strips with the cords disposed at the desired angle 7 to the edges defined by the successive cuts.

Prior to this invention, the bias cutting machines more generally in use have included jaws which automatically pick up the leading end of the fabric sheet and pull it a definite distance past an angularly disposed knife,

by which the bias strip is cut as the jaws reach the limit of their motion. This feeding and cutting action is carried onintermittently at a speed of. about eighty strips W per minute. and the cut strips are individually placed between cotton cloth leaves of a 1928. Serial no. 285,555.

book in which they are stored until used by the tire builder, or else they are spliced together end to end and wound up with ali'ner. These machines are very expensive and must be operated almost continuously to be at all economical. Moreover, they require from four to six attendants to operate them, with a consequent labor loss in all cases of delay due to mechanical break doWns,-bad stock, changing rolls, and other causes. In addition, the machines do not cut the bias strips with the desired accuracy, resulting in considerable Waste of material, as Well as imperfect construction of the tires in which the material is used.

The foregoing and other objectionable features of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, which has among itsobjects, the provision of a biascutting machine of extremely simple construction,

zontally disposed endless belt conveyor which is manually operated to advance the fabric sheet material step by step and without tension from a stock supply roll to a cutting position where it is cut diagonally by a power-driven rotary cutter. This cutter is mounted upon a carriage which is reciprocable on ,a frame overlying the endless belt conveyor and extending transversely thereof at the desired angle, the frame being adjustable at will to vary the angle of the out, and the carriage being caused to traverse the conveyor by manual rotation of a crank which turns a sprocket wheel operating a link chain to which the carriage is connected. Associated w th the adjustable frame is aresilient metal strip or bar which extends across the conveyor immediately above the :upper surface thereof and over. which the fabric material is adapted to be fed. This strip or bar is positioned under the rotary cutter and serves to protect the endless belt, aswell as to facilitate the traversing movement of the cutter. A guide shoe is also mounted on thecarriage' and has abifurcated ,stroke of the carriage, the guide shoe passes over the fabric, leaving the same free to be width of the successive strips.

fed forwardly preparatory to the next cut.

A ruler or similar gauge is also adjustably;

mounted over the conveyor and disposed perpendicularly to the line of travel of the cutter, and by means of this gauge the 0 .erator can determine the exact amount ofeeding.

movement of the conveyor to control the The foregoing and other ObJQCtS, features and advantages of the invention will be readily understood from the following descrlption in connection with the accompanying drawings, whereln one embodlment has been shown by way of illustration, and wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view ofa biascutting machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a diagonal transverse sectional view thru the conveyor on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view on a larger scale, on line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an'enlarg'ed end view of the earriage and cutter, and showing more clearly the operation-of the fabric lifting and guide shoe; and

Fig. 6 is a side view of the carriage and aisg ciated parts, partly in section on line 6-6 o i 5.

Re erringih detail to the drawings, the improved bias cutting machine comprises a fixed main frame 10, having spaced parallel side rails 11 and supporting standards or legs 12, and a supplementary. frame 13 which straddles the main frame 10 transversely and is adjustable angularly with reference thereto. The supplementary frame 13 comprises pedestals 14, arran ed one at each side of the main frame, rigid y connected together b a structural steel channel member 15 whic is spaced slightly-above the main frame side rails 11 and capableof being shifted with the pedestals 14 as a unit, the arrangement co rails. The conveyor 16 is manually 0perbeing such that the channel member is disposed diagonally or'obliquely with reference to the main frame. An endless belt conveyor 16 is supported bythe main frame 10 to travel in a direction parallel with the side rails 11, the belt running over pulleys 17 and 18 on shafts 19 and20 respectively, and these shafts being journaled at 21 and 22 adjacent the ends of the main frame'side ated by a crank 23 which turns a pulley 24 connected by a belt 25 to the conveyor pulley 18, and b intermittently turnin the crank 23, a mi berized fabric sheet A is fed nel member 15. Sup

mounted on the inner aces of the flange porforwardly step-by-step from a stock supply roll B to a cutting position below the supple-.

mentary frame 13.

tension, and as it reaches .the cutting posi tion, it is caused topass over a. separator bar 27 whereby it is raised slightly from the conveyor belt (Fig. 4). This separator bar 27 is preferably in thenat'ure of athin flat strip of resilient metal whichis slightly inclined in a transverse direction, as shown mentary frame, whereby itcan be adjusted .with said frame to cut the material at different desired angles.

Mounted for reclprocatlon on the channel member 15 1s a carriage 30, which comprises a substantially horizontal'portion' 31 and dependin flange-portions 32 and 33 respectively disposed at opposite sides of the chanorting rollers 34 are tions 32 and 33 and travel in guides or grooves 35 adjacent the longitudinal edges of the channel member 15,'thus facilitating movement of the carriage. A rotary cutter- 38 is secured to one end of a shaft 39, which is journaled as at 40 and 41 in extensions of the flange portions 32 and 33, the shaft being driven by a belt and pulley arrangement 42 from an electric motor 43 on-the carria e ortion 31.- The rotary cutter 38 is pre era ly formed of a thin circular metallic disc having its periphery 44 sharpened to a knife edge and provided with inwardly extending radialjiotches or incisions 45. It,

has been found that a cutter of this character does not become gummed, and is therefore more effective than a plain circular cutter.

The cutter rotates it a bifurcated wedge-shaped guide shoe 47 which is-adapted to slide under the fabric andraise the same against the edge of the cutter. .The guide shoe 47 is suspended from in a plane directly over the separator bar 27 and has associated with shoe has its lower surface slightly inclined longitudinally with reference to the separator bar 27, and this form of guide shoe in conjunction with the resilient nature of the separator bar will permit the cutter on its return stroke to pass' over the fabric without injuring it or without interfering with.

its forward feeding movement.- If desired the separator .bar 27, instead of being arranged strictly horizontal, may be disposed at a downward inclination from the near to the far edge 'of the fabric, in which case, as

' tion of the sprocket wheels'in one direction will be apparent, the guide shoe will avoid contact with the separator bar except at the beginning of the cutting stroke. Withsuch a downwardly inclined bar, the resilient property is not so important, altho even so it would be preferable to have the strip mounted for yielding at the near edge of the fabric in order that the guide shoe may more easily pass beneath the fabric.

In order to reciprocate the carriage 30, there is employed a pair of sprocket wheels 50 and 51 rotatably supported by suitable brackets 52 and 52" adjacent the opposite ends of the channel member 15, said sprockets being connected by a link chain 53 to which the carriage is attached in any suitable manner. The sprocket 50 isprovided with a crank handle 54 whereby it may be manually rotated by an operator standing lat one side of the machine as shown in Fig. 1, rotacausing the carriage to traverse'the conveyor in a cutting stroke, and rotation of the sprocket wheels in a reverse direction causing the carriage to returnto its original position adjacent the operators station.

is desirable to limit the stroke of the- I carriage and to relieve the chain 53 of shocks incident to reversal of movement, and for this purpose the carriage 30 is provided with a pair of oppositely extending studs or arms. 56 which are adapted to abut against yielding stops or cushion members b the brackets 52 and 52. Each of the yielding stops 57 includes a coil spring which is compressed by thetcorresponding stud 56 as the carriage reaches the end of its stroke, and the energy thus stored .in the spring -causes the-carriage to rebound slightly, 'reducing the effort necessary for the next stroke.

In operating the device, the supplementary frame 13 is first adjusted to the proper angle desired, after which the sheet material A 1s fed forwardly'on the conveyor by manual rotation of the crank 23, the carriage 30 then being at the side of the machine near the operator. As soon as the material has been advanced a suflicient amount beyond the path of the cutter, the operator stops turning the crank 23 and rotates the sprocket 50 by means of the handle 54 to start the cutting operation. The motor 43, supplied with current thru a flexible cord 60, operates continuously to rotate the cutter 38 at high speed by means of the belt 42. In the initial movement of the carriage 30, the pointed end of the guide shoe 47 rides on the resilient strip 27 and slides under the near edge of the fabric, and as the movement continues the fabric is lifted against the edge of the rotating cutter by which it is cut on a bias defined by the angu- 57 supported the operator reverses the direction of rotation of the sprocket 50-to draw the carriage back toward him. As previously pointed out, the shoe 47 rides up over the fabric on this return stroke of the carriage and renders the cutter ineffective, so that the crank 23 is free to be manipulated to feed the material forward an amount equal to thewidth of the next strip to he cut. These operations can be repeated as often and asrapi'dly as desired, and because of the fact that the cutter is rotated at high speed,-the cutting stroke can be efiected very rapidly.

To enable the operator to measure the amount of material fed by the movement of the conveyor, and to gauge accurately the width of the strips to be cut, there is located at the delivery side of the conveyor a gauge baror ruler 61 disposed perpendicular to the line of travel of the cutter,-and having one end adj ustably secured to the main frame side rail 11 as at 62 for endwise. and swinging movement, and its other end 63 terminating at the line of cut, altho not necessarily so. The gauge bar overlies the conveyor 16 as best shownin Fig. 2,'so that the cut strips are carried below it, and intermediate its ends the bar has an adj ustable sight member or pointer 64, by which the amount of intermittent feed movement of the conveyor can be governed. Thus, after a cut has been made as reviously described, the conveyor is operate untilthe line of the last out registers with the sight member or pointer 64, at which time the con- 'veyor is stopped and the next cut made. With this arrangement, the'product of the machine is uniform in width and as a result, I

Waste of material is reduced to a minimum. In Fig. 3, another carriage arresting means 1s shown which may be used as an alternative for, or in conjunction with, the studs 56 and cushions 57. This means comprises a small sprocket 65 mounted for rotation with the carri age The ends of the chain 66 are secured tocoil springs 67 and 68, respectively, the lower endsof which are anchored to a rigid arm 69 on the adjacent pedestal 14. As the sprocket 50 isrodriving sprocket 50, and a piece of. link chain 66 meshing with the sprocket 65*.

tated to reciprocate the carriage, thesprocket 65 is'also rotated and, acting thru the chain 66, causes one or the other of springs 67 and 68 to be extended. The tension thus imposed on the springs assists in the reciprocation of the carriage, one spring acting on the cutting stroke and the other on the return stroke.

The improved bias cutting machine is not only of extremely simple construction and thus capable of being produced at low cost,

but in addition it is most efiicient in operation. The cost of operation is so small that 'the production of the machine can economically be regulated to suit the requirements of a group of tire builders, making it possible' to supply them with fresh bias cut strips which maybe used at once for the building of tires, thus improving the .quality; of the tires and eliminating the extra ex ense incident to handling and storing t e strips in books or liner rolls. The machine can alsobe'used to operate on different widths or.

thicknesses of fabric without making bothersome adjustments, and can be quickly and easily adjusted to vary the angle of the bias cut. Furthermore, bias strips of different widths may be out without necessitating adjustment of the operative parts, since. the operator has full control at all times of the amount of material fed forward in determining the width or widths of successive strips.

The invention is of course susceptible of numerous modifications in the details of con- I veyor, means carried with the cutter for prostruction and arrangement-of parts, and the right is herein reserved to make such changes as fall within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent of the United States, is as follows: v

1. A bias cutting machine comprising a.

- source of supply to a cutting position a carriage movable transversely back and forth over the fabric independently of the conveyor feed and intermediate the advancing steps thereof, a power-driven rotary cutter mounted on said carriage and arranged to sever the fabric into successive bias-cut strips,

, and means for varying thedirection ofmoves- I ment of the cutter transversely over the fabric whereby to control the angle of the bias "cut; Y

I 3. A fabric cutting machine com risin an endless belt conveyor for supporting fa ric and advancing it step by step from a source of supply, a power-driven rotary cutter movable transversely over the fabric onthe congressively lifting thefabric from 'the conveyor and presenting it to theedge of the cutter, and meansfor alternately advancing the conveyor and reciprocating the cutter where"- by the fabric will be cut into successive bias strips. 3

4. A bias cutting machine comprising a conveyor manually operable at will for advancing fabric step by step from-a source of supply to acutting position without tension, a power-driven rotary cutter movable over the fabric and at an angle to the direction of feeding movement thereof, manually-cone trolled means for moving the cutter in a cutting stroke intermediate the advancing steps of the conveyor, and means associated with the cutter for progressively liftinggthe fabric from the conveyor and holding it against the edge of the cutter during the cutting stroke,

whereby the fabric may be cut into successive bias strips of desired width with accuracy.

. 5. A bias cutting machine comprisin a cutting position without tension, a power- (lriven rotary cutter reciprocable transverse ly over the fabric to cut it intermediate the advancing steps of the conveyor, a tapered bifurcated shoe carried with the cutter and adapted progressively to lift the fabric upagainst means for reciprocating the cutter independv the cutter, manually-controlled ently of its power drive,'and additional manually-controlled means for advancing the 'conveyor any selected amount whereby the,

fabric may be accurately cut into strips of desired width.

an endless belt conveyor for supporting rub r- 'ized fabric and conyeving it step by step to p 6. A bias cutting machine comprising an endlessbelt conveyor for feeding fabric in a straight run without tension, means for operating the conveyor intermittently to ad- "vance the fabric step by step to cutting position, a cutting instrument movable transversely over the conveyor and intermediate the ends thereof to sever the fabric into strips, means for efi'ectin such movement of the cutting instrument w ile the fabric is at rest on the conveyor, and means separate and distinct from. the cutting instrument and movable therewith forprogressively lifting the fabric from the conveyor and holdin it against the cutting instrument for severing the successive strips. a 7. Ajbias cutting machine comprising, in

combination, an endless belt conveyor for advancing fabric from a source of supply to a cutting 4 position, a transversely extending frame disposed obliquely above the conveyor,

a carriage reciprocable on said frame, a

power-driven rotary cutter supported by the carr1age,'a separator stripv disposed between.

the conveyor and the fabric at the cutting line, a shoe vmovable with the carriage to raise the fabric from the separator strip and against the periphery of the cutter, means for reciprocating the carriage, and means permittingintermittent operation of the conveyor independently of the carriage reciprocatingmeans.

in combination, an endless belt conveyor for advancing fabric from a source of suppl to a cutting position, a transversely exten ing frame disposed obliquely .above the conveyor,

'a carriagereciprocable on said frame, a rotary cutter supported by the carriage, a separator strip disposed between the conveyor and the fabric atthe cutting line said strip being transversely inclined away from the conveyor in the direction of movement of the fabric, and a bifurcated shoe depending from the carriage and movable therewith, said shoe being disposed immediately above the separator strip and having its fork portions at opposite sides of the lower edge of the rotary cutter, and being adapted to raise the fabric from the separator strip and against the cutter in the traversing movement o the carriage.

9'. A bias cutting machine comprising, in combination, an endless belt conveyor for advancing fabric from a source of supply to a cutting position,- a transversely extend ing frame located above and disposed at an angle to said conveyor, said frame being adjustable to different angles relative to the direction of movement of the conveyor, a carriage reciprocable on said frame, a rotary cutter supported by the carriage, a separator strip associated with the adjustable frame and adapted to be'disposedjbetween the conveyor and the fabric at the cutting line, a bifurcated shoe depending" from the carriage and movable therewith, said shoe being disposed immediately above the separator strip and having its fork portions at opposite sides ofv the lower edge of the rotary cutter, and being adapted to raise the fabric from the separator strip and against the cutter in the traversingmovementofthe carriage, manually controlled means for operating the conveyor to feed the fabric forward, and means for reciprocating the cutter and carriage to produce the bias-cut strips.

10. A bias cuttingimachine comprising an i endless belt conveyor for feeding fabric in a straight run without tension, a frame extending obliquely over-said conveyor, a carriage reciprocable on said frame, a rotary cutter supported by the carriage to sever the fabric into successive bias-cut strips, and a gauge member overlying the conveyor and disposed perpendicular to the direction of movement of the'cutter and carriage whereby to measure the width of the successive strips.

' 11. A bias cutting machine com rising an endless belt conveyor forfeeding abric in a straight run without tension,an adjustable frame extending obliquely over said conveyor, a carriage reciprocable on said adjustable frame, a rotary cutter supported by the carriage to sever the fabric lnto successive bias-cut strips, means for manually operating the conveyor intermittently to advance the fabric step-by-step, and additional means for manually reciprocating the carriage in-- dependently of the conveyor advancmg.

means. a

12. A bias cutting machine comprislng an endless belt conveyor for feeding fabric 1n a,

straight run without tension, a frame extending obliquely over said conveyor, a carnage reciprocable on said frame,a rotary cutter supported by the carriage to sever the fabric into successive bias-cut strips, means for manually operating the conveyor intermittently to advance the fabric step-by-step, additional means for manually reciprocating the carriage independently of the conveyor advancing means, and resilient means for arresting the movement of the carriage atthe ends of its strokes.

13. A fabric cutting machine comprisinga fixed mainframe, a substantially horizontal endless belt. conveyor supported by said main frame for feeding fabric step-by-step in a straight run without tension, an adjustable frame extending obliquely over said main frame and conveyor, a carriage reciprocable on said adjustable frame, a motor-driven rotary cutter supported by said carriage and movable therewith, means associated with the carriage for raising the fabric against the periphery of the rotary cutter as it moves in one direction over the conveyor, and a gau e member adjustably mounted on the fixed frame, said gauge member overlying the conveyor and fabric at the delivery side of the cutting line and being perpendicularto the line of travel of the cutter, whereby to measure the width of successive bias-cut strips.

.14. A fabric cutting machine comprising a fixed main frame,'-'a substantially horizontal endless belt conveyor. supported by said main frame for feeding fabric step-by-step in a straight run without tension, a supporting frame extending obliquely over said main frame and conveyor, a carriage reciprocable on said frame, a motor-driven rotary cutter a fixed main frame, a substantially horizontal endless belt conveyor supported by said main frame for feeding fabric step-by-step in a straight run without tension, a supporting frame extending obliquely over said main frame and conveyor, a carriage reciprocable on said frame, a motor-driven rotary cutter supported by said carriage and movable g therewith, manually controlled vmeans for.

propelling the conveyor and the carriage intransversely over the-fabric in a diagonal dependently, a resilient separator strip disposed between the conveyor and the abric at the cutting line, and a wed ge-shaped guide shoe depending from the carriage'and having its lower end arranged to contact with the resilient separator strip, whereby the guide shoe is adapted to pass beneath the fabric on the cutting stroke of the carriage and above the fabric on the return stroke.

16. A bias cutting machine comprising an endless belt conveyor for advancing fabric "step by step from a source of supply to a 1 cutting position .without'tension, a reciproeating carriage supported to'travel obliquely over the conveyor, a powerdriven rotary cutter suspended from said carriage and adapted to operate on the fabric to sever it into successive biascut strips intermediate the advancing steps of the c'onveyor,-means for intermittently advancing the conveyor and reciprocating the carriage, and means movable with the carriage, but below the fabric, to lift the fabric from the conveyor and against the periphery of the cutter in performing the strip cutting action.

17. A bias cutting machine comprising an endless belt conveyor for advancing fabric step by step from a source of supply to a cutting position without tension, a reciproeating carriage supported to travel obliquely over the conveyor, a power driven rotary cutter suspended from said carriage and adapted, to operate on the fabrieto sever it into successive bias-cut strips intermediate the advancing steps of the conveyor, and manually controlled means for advancing the conter, and means for reciprocating the carriage independently of the cutter-driving means so as to effect the bias cutting operation while the fabric conveyor is at rest.

20. A bias cutting machine comprising a conveyor for advancing fabric from a source of supply'to a cutting position, means for operating the conveyor intermittently to ad.-v vance the fabric step b mediate pauses, a powerriven rotary cutter movable transversely of the fabric on adi step with interagonal line to severthe same into successive bias cut strips, 9. IGCIPI'OCRtIDg" carriage wherein the rotary cutter is mounted and opveyor and for reciprocating the carriage independently of each other;

18. A bias cutting machine comprising a conveyor for advancing fabric step by step from a source of supply to acutting position, means for operating the conveyor, a powerdriven rotary cutter, a motor for driving the cutter, means for progressively lifting vthe fabric into the range of the cutter, a reciproeating carriage whereon the cutter, motor,

and lifting means are mounted and operable while the fabric is at rest to cut the same into successive bias-cut strips, and means for reciprocating the carnage and its associated part-s independently of the cutter-driving motor.

19. A bias cutting machine comprising a conveyor for advancing fabric Without tension from a source of supply to a eutting' position, means for manually operating. the conveyor at will to advance the fabric step by step any desired amount with intermediate pauses, a power-driven notary cutter movable line to sever the same into successive bias-cut strips, a reciprocating carriage whereinthe rotary cutter is mounted, a fabric lifting shoe supported by the carriage and adapted to lift the fabric progressively against the cutduring the cutting 

